https://znetwork.org/category/place/middle-east/saudi-arabia/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:35:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/category/place/middle-east/saudi-arabia/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/yemen-the-human-cost-of-imperial-ambitions/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/yemen-the-human-cost-of-imperial-ambitions/#respond Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:34:55 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1293586 The conflict in Yemen, a country already exhausted by more than a decade of war, is entering another uncertain phase. In recent weeks, fighters aligned with the Southern Transitional Council (STC)—backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—have taken control of large parts of Hadramout and al-Mahra in southern and eastern Yemen, including key cities and security installations. These provinces [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/yemen-the-human-cost-of-imperial-ambitions/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-gulfs-cold-war-saudi-uae-rivalry-spills-into-africa/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-gulfs-cold-war-saudi-uae-rivalry-spills-into-africa/#respond Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:02:31 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1293088 In the sterile, high-altitude boardrooms of the Gulf, the mantra for the last decade has been one of shared destiny. From the 2017 blockade of Qatar to the initial intervention in Yemen, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi appeared to be the twin engines of a new, assertive Arab order. Yet, as 2026 begins, that veneer of [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-gulfs-cold-war-saudi-uae-rivalry-spills-into-africa/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/in-courting-saudi-arabia-trump-emulates-mohammed-bin-salmans-authoritarianism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/in-courting-saudi-arabia-trump-emulates-mohammed-bin-salmans-authoritarianism/#respond Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:50:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291705 Fascism thrives in societies that grow desensitized to violence. Once cruelty is normalized, political life collapses into a spectacle of force, lies, and corruption. Under such conditions, the humanity of selected populations becomes disposable. Bodies disappear, injustice parades as lawful, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security reveal themselves as having [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/in-courting-saudi-arabia-trump-emulates-mohammed-bin-salmans-authoritarianism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-deafening-silence-arab-complicity-and-the-normalization-of-evil-in-gaza/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-deafening-silence-arab-complicity-and-the-normalization-of-evil-in-gaza/#respond Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:14:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282548 The world is witnessing an unconscionable silence as Israel, an occupying power, imposes a total food blockade on Gaza—an act of collective punishment against a captive civilian population. As famine tightens its grip and American-made bombs rain from the sky, global leaders stand by—paralyzed, indifferent, or willfully complicit—while Israel renders Gaza uninhabitable. Earlier this week, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-deafening-silence-arab-complicity-and-the-normalization-of-evil-in-gaza/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/netanyahu-is-preparing-to-sabotage-the-gaza-ceasefire-again/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/netanyahu-is-preparing-to-sabotage-the-gaza-ceasefire-again/#respond Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:51:07 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1279632 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/netanyahu-is-preparing-to-sabotage-the-gaza-ceasefire-again/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-game-normalization/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-game-normalization/#respond Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:35:59 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1279629 Despite the fallout, there was little that was actually new or shocking about Trump and Netanyahu’s press conference last week. What shocked informed people on all sides of the Palestine issue was Trump’s forthright (if crude, ill-comprehended and oblivious) statement of the truth: that the United States is committed to the Judaization of Palestine and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-game-normalization/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/mustafa-barghouti-on-israels-defeat-in-gaza-saudi-normalization-and-the-war-on-the-west-bank/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/mustafa-barghouti-on-israels-defeat-in-gaza-saudi-normalization-and-the-war-on-the-west-bank/#respond Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:14:09 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1278975 I’m Jeremy Scahill from DropSite News, DropSiteNews.com. This weekend, there is going to be another exchange of captives. Some are going to come out of Gaza and be returned to the Israelis. We’re also expecting scores of Palestinian captives. The last round, the prisoners who were released from the Palestinian side included women and children that have been held by Israel. As we wait for this next round of exchanges, the Israeli government and the Israeli military have launched a significant attack on the West Bank, centering on Janine. There is a lot to talk about, and we are going to be joined by a leading Palestinian political figure in just a moment. But first, I want to welcome my colleague Sharif Abdel-Kaddous. Sharif, good morning. Good morning, Jeremy. Good to be here. And we are joined right now by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti. He is the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative. That’s a Palestinian political party. He’s also been deeply involved with discussions about what is going to happen in the immediate future in Gaza, as well as the long-term future as well. Dr. Barghouti joins us from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Thank you very much for being with us. Thousands of Palestinians are preparing to return to northern Gaza from the south this weekend for the first time in months. Under the terms of the “ceasefire” agreement that went into effect on Sunday, Palestinians will be allowed to travel north on foot via a coastal road where Israeli [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/mustafa-barghouti-on-israels-defeat-in-gaza-saudi-normalization-and-the-war-on-the-west-bank/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/it-really-really-looks-like-saudi-arabia-did-9-11/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/it-really-really-looks-like-saudi-arabia-did-9-11/#respond Sat, 25 May 2024 12:01:54 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1266908 It’s never a bad time to reflect on the copious evidence for the Saudi government’s role in facilitating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In fact, it’s arguably more important than ever right now, with the Biden administration seemingly dead set on signing a mutual defense pact with that same government — a pact that would [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/it-really-really-looks-like-saudi-arabia-did-9-11/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/journalist-in-yemen-our-people-are-honored-to-stand-for-palestine/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/journalist-in-yemen-our-people-are-honored-to-stand-for-palestine/#respond Fri, 19 Jan 2024 22:33:14 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1260971 After carrying out US strikes on Yemen this week in retaliation for its solidarity with Palestine, the Biden administration announced that it is once again designating Yemen’s Ansar Allah (also called the Houthis) as a “terrorist” organization. The impacts of Ansar Allah’s embargo of all ships destined for Israel are far-reaching. The embargo has financially [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/journalist-in-yemen-our-people-are-honored-to-stand-for-palestine/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/geopolitics-the-imperial-system-and-socialist-anti-imperialism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/geopolitics-the-imperial-system-and-socialist-anti-imperialism/#respond Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:33:08 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1256300 Claudio Katz is a professor of economics at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and a member of Economists of the Left. He is also the author of various articles and books on contemporary capitalism and imperialism, including Bajo el Imperio del Capital (Under the Empire of Capital), Dependency Theory After Fifty Years and his latest, La Crisis del Sistema Imperial (The Imperial [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/geopolitics-the-imperial-system-and-socialist-anti-imperialism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-war-on-gaza-is-shaking-up-the-region-from-saudi-normalization-to-the-russia-factor/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-war-on-gaza-is-shaking-up-the-region-from-saudi-normalization-to-the-russia-factor/#respond Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1255953 Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, joined The Freedom Side to discuss US hypocrisy in its unconditional support for Israel’s shocking aggression against Gaza, how this war impacts prospects for Saudi-Israel normalization, the potential entrance of Yemen’s Houthis in the fight, and how Russia views this escalation.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-war-on-gaza-is-shaking-up-the-region-from-saudi-normalization-to-the-russia-factor/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/prioritizing-human-rights-in-relations-with-saudi-arabia/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/prioritizing-human-rights-in-relations-with-saudi-arabia/#respond Wed, 06 Sep 2023 16:37:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1253416 There is a refugee trail that goes from the Sahel drought region in Africa, into war-ravaged Yemen, and up through Saudi Arabia towards Iraq and Turkey. It’s known as “the Eastern route,” or sometimes “the Yemeni route.” The Saudi monarchy, already leading an eight-year starvation and bombardment campaign against Iran-aligned, rebel-governed Yemen, has been massacring [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/prioritizing-human-rights-in-relations-with-saudi-arabia/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-countries-that-helped-devastate-yemen-must-take-responsibility-for-its-reconstruction/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-countries-that-helped-devastate-yemen-must-take-responsibility-for-its-reconstruction/#comments Wed, 30 Aug 2023 19:28:39 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1252810 Aden, a fast-growing city located in the south of Yemen, is nestled amid a jagged mountain range, expansive desert lands, a dormant volcano, and the Red Sea. The Romans called the region “Arabia Felix,” meaning “happy Arabia.” Yemen has been at the origin and crossroads of civilizations for millennia. Cultural diversity gained through immigration and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-countries-that-helped-devastate-yemen-must-take-responsibility-for-its-reconstruction/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabia-mass-killings-of-migrants-at-yemen-border/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabia-mass-killings-of-migrants-at-yemen-border/#respond Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:50:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1252540 Read a text description of this video Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023. Saudi officials are killing hundreds of women and children out of view of the rest of the world while they spend [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabia-mass-killings-of-migrants-at-yemen-border/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/syria-comes-in-from-the-cold/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/syria-comes-in-from-the-cold/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1244391 While the world continues to come to grips with the reality — and consequences — of the Chinese-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Araba and Iran, another diplomatic coup is unfolding in the Middle East. This one is orchestrated by the Russians. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan flew to Damascus last week, where he met [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/syria-comes-in-from-the-cold/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-he-saudis-have-called-off-their-israeli-wedding/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-he-saudis-have-called-off-their-israeli-wedding/#respond Thu, 20 Apr 2023 16:10:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1243967 After leading Israel’s extreme far-right to victory in last November’s elections, a buoyant Benjamin Netanyahu hoped to quickly resume Tel Aviv’s march towards full normalization with Arab regimes. Netanyahu was still flying high from the so-called Abraham Accords, the deals brokered under the Trump administration between Israel on the one hand, and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco on the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-he-saudis-have-called-off-their-israeli-wedding/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/houthis-and-saudis-shake-hands-in-yemen-end-of-worlds-worst-humanitarian-crisis/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/houthis-and-saudis-shake-hands-in-yemen-end-of-worlds-worst-humanitarian-crisis/#respond Wed, 19 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1243866 After China helped to broker a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia last month, Saudi, Houthi and Omani delegations are meeting in Yemen to begin peace talks to end the 9-year war. Shireen Al-Adeimi, Yemeni-born anti-war activist & Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, explains the major developments.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/houthis-and-saudis-shake-hands-in-yemen-end-of-worlds-worst-humanitarian-crisis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-path-to-peace-in-yemen/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-path-to-peace-in-yemen/#respond Sun, 16 Apr 2023 15:16:33 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1243697 A delegation from Saudi Arabia has arrived in Yemen’s capital Sana’a alongside Omani negotiators with the aim of reaching a resolution to the protracted war in Yemen. This marks a major turning point in a conflict that began more than eight years ago and has been characterized as a stalemate between Yemen’s Houthis and a coalition of anti-Houthi forces backed and led [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-path-to-peace-in-yemen/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/censorship-in-germany-israeli-hacking-saudi-iran-peace-deal/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/censorship-in-germany-israeli-hacking-saudi-iran-peace-deal/#respond Sat, 25 Mar 2023 15:08:46 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1242169 In this episode of The Source, we speak with independent journalist, author and economist Dr. Shir Hever about how and why his lecture on child labor in Palestine was abruptly censored by the GEW (Education and Science Workers’ Union) in Germany. We also talk about a recent Forbidden Stories article detailing how Israeli companies played [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/censorship-in-germany-israeli-hacking-saudi-iran-peace-deal/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-key-factor-in-the-saudi-iran-deal-absolutely-no-u-s-involvement/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-key-factor-in-the-saudi-iran-deal-absolutely-no-u-s-involvement/#respond Fri, 17 Mar 2023 13:07:02 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1241537 Ever since it pushed aside colonial Britain and France, the United States has prided itself on being the dominant outside power in the Middle East. That lofty image was shaken this past week by the surprise announcement that Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. partner, and Iran, a longtime enemy, had negotiated a normalization agreement on [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-key-factor-in-the-saudi-iran-deal-absolutely-no-u-s-involvement/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-iran-reconciliation-how-china-is-reshaping-the-middle-east/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-iran-reconciliation-how-china-is-reshaping-the-middle-east/#respond Fri, 17 Mar 2023 12:57:26 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1241533 As President Xi Jinping begins his third term in office this week, it seems that China has abandoned its once low-profile foreign policy and now seeks to assert itself as an imperial state that safeguards its global interests. The projection of this image is at the centre of the country’s ambitious new Silk Road initiative, also known as the Belt and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-iran-reconciliation-how-china-is-reshaping-the-middle-east/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/iran-saudi-deal-cements-china-as-a-regional-power/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/iran-saudi-deal-cements-china-as-a-regional-power/#respond Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1241390 ]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/iran-saudi-deal-cements-china-as-a-regional-power/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/chinas-middle-east-deal-iran-saudi-arabia-reestablish-relations-as-u-s-watches-from-sidelines/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/chinas-middle-east-deal-iran-saudi-arabia-reestablish-relations-as-u-s-watches-from-sidelines/#respond Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:50:31 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1241282 Transcript This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show looking at a new agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations after a seven-year rift. The deal was reached after four days of secret talks in Beijing in a sign of China’s growing diplomatic [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/chinas-middle-east-deal-iran-saudi-arabia-reestablish-relations-as-u-s-watches-from-sidelines/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-imperial-anxieties-mount-over-china-brokered-iran-saudi-arabia-diplomatic-deal/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-imperial-anxieties-mount-over-china-brokered-iran-saudi-arabia-diplomatic-deal/#respond Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:29:42 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1241260 While advocates of peace and a multipolar world order welcomed Friday’s China-brokered agreement reestablishing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, U.S. press, pundits, and politicians expressed what one observer called “imperial anxieties” over the deal and growing Chinese influence in a region dominated by the United States for decades. The deal struck between the two [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-imperial-anxieties-mount-over-china-brokered-iran-saudi-arabia-diplomatic-deal/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/at-least-87-yemenis-killed-and-136-injured-in-14-months-with-arms-supplied-by-uk-and-us/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/at-least-87-yemenis-killed-and-136-injured-in-14-months-with-arms-supplied-by-uk-and-us/#respond Thu, 12 Jan 2023 13:24:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1236797 According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), the UK alone has sold weapons worth nearly USD 28 billion to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the war in Yemen in 2015 According to an Oxfam report published on Wednesday, January 11, at least 87 Yemeni civilians were killed and 136 wounded in airstrikes carried [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/at-least-87-yemenis-killed-and-136-injured-in-14-months-with-arms-supplied-by-uk-and-us/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-diplomacy-in-yemen-means-taking-saudi-arabias-side-and-could-spark-all-out-war/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-diplomacy-in-yemen-means-taking-saudi-arabias-side-and-could-spark-all-out-war/#respond Sun, 01 Jan 2023 15:58:03 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1235978 When Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called for a vote on a war powers resolution that would block U.S. support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen, the Biden administration immediately pushed back. The resolution, the White House warned, would upset diplomatic efforts and bring about the war it was trying to end. “The Administration strongly opposes [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-diplomacy-in-yemen-means-taking-saudi-arabias-side-and-could-spark-all-out-war/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/xi-announces-new-era-in-china-saudi-relationship/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/xi-announces-new-era-in-china-saudi-relationship/#respond Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:31:54 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1234151  Al Jazeera reports that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Thursday signed an agreement with visiting Chinese Premier Xi Jinping at the Yamama Palace regarding a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries. Xi announced that his visit to the kingdom would inaugurate a “new era” in the relationship of China to the Arab world, the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/xi-announces-new-era-in-china-saudi-relationship/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabias-green-agenda-doesnt-cut-oil-production/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabias-green-agenda-doesnt-cut-oil-production/#respond Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:34:32 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1232143 The world’s biggest petroleum exporter, a country built with oil money, and a founding member of the most powerful oil cartel on Earth, is now styling itself as a pioneer of climate change solutions. At the United Nations climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt last week, Saudi Arabia held a separate meeting for Middle East [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/saudi-arabias-green-agenda-doesnt-cut-oil-production/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-saudi-leadership-of-opec-clash-with-u-s-strategic-partnership/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-saudi-leadership-of-opec-clash-with-u-s-strategic-partnership/#respond Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:52:53 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1223186 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-saudi-leadership-of-opec-clash-with-u-s-strategic-partnership/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-middle-east-visit-an-orgy-of-cynicism-hypocrisy-and-erasures/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-middle-east-visit-an-orgy-of-cynicism-hypocrisy-and-erasures/#respond Sat, 23 Jul 2022 12:45:00 +0000 https://zcomm-staging.work/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1140183 [Prefatory Note: A stylistically modified version of this post was published a few days ago in COUNTERPUNCH. It criticizes the dual tracks of Biden’s ill-executed trip in mid-July to Israel and Saudi Arabia. It faults Biden for the extreme cynicism of pursuing a realpolitik approach in Riyadh and an approach in Israel that mixed silences about apartheid, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bidens-middle-east-visit-an-orgy-of-cynicism-hypocrisy-and-erasures/feed/ 0